Public Service: Anal Fistula and How Resistant Starch Cured It

I was weighing the propriety of putting this up. Not because of any reason other than “do many people suffer from this?” but then co-author of our forthcoming GUT BIOME book, Tim Steele, gave me a clue that reminded me of an experience and it became necessary to put it out there.

The email from a non-anonymous source, name withheld by request for obvious reason.

First, I would like to thank you for popularizing the phenomenon that is resistant starch. Second, if you chose to use this story, please withhold my name.

In my early twenties I was eating SAD. A strange tumor, an abscess, formed near my rectum. After a lot of trouble it was diagnosed as anal fistula. Nasty condition. They said that the only form of treatment is an operation with some chance of success, but also with some chance that I would not be able to hold my bowels normally. So I decided to live with it, because I could live with it—and it would be better than involuntarily making a nasty mess someplace. Pain was there—blood and pus as well. But it was manageable.

10 years later I improved my diet and lost some weight, but the fistula was still there. I decided to check in with the doctors as new methods of therapy for resolving fistula had appeared. They started with an MRI scan and a colonoscopy.

…In the meantime I tried to lose some more weight with the help of The Potato Hack. I don’t have a microwave at work so I ate them cold.

Imagine that, in two weeks, all symptoms of anal fistula disappeared, and AFTER 10 YEARS OF SUFFERING. JUST LIKE THAT: No blood coming out of it, no pus, no pain.

I was familiar with the topic of resistant starch, then suddenly connected the dots.

The doc, when he saw this, was really surprised. Me too. Now I’m taking Potato Starch religiously and not a single event from fistula. That never happened before. It was sometimes better, sometimes worse, but an absolute clean state was not achievable with any other approach (and I did try everything, trust me).

As my wife is a biotechnologist, she dug up a publication called Resistant Starch: Promise for Improving Human Health. Well, it certainly improved mine! I’m planning to show it to my doc. Perhaps he’ll understand that this is not “alternative” medicine, but pure science.

So thank you, and for any chance that somebody with fistula will read this and this will help them also. That is the sole reason why I am writing this.

So after the story and that last line, I pretty much have to put it out there, right? Can you imagine the displeasure? What a quality of life improvement, if it works for anyone else.

Here’s what Tim had to say:

Dogs get this all the time—usually diet related. Sled dog kennels in Alaska are notorious for feeding their dogs the cheapest, shittiest dog food they can find because sled dogs eat a lot. Try feeding dozens of big, hungry, cold dogs on a limited budget!

One of the common jobs that needs done at a sled dog kennel is “butt milking.” They need to go and squeeze the pus out of the dogs asses (anal fistulas) so the dogs can poop.

Sled dog kennels that feed their dogs fish and raw meat don’t have this problem, only when they feed them the crap in a bag that is $10 for 50lbs at Sam’s Club. Makes sense that a diet change favorable to gut microbes would clear up anal fistulas in humans, too.

I truly believe that humans ought to start going to veterinarians for health problems. Free the Animal. But yea, one time the cute bitch started scooting on her ass a lot, so Bea had me take her in and the anal glands were the first thing the vet checked. Turned out to be a Mark I, Mod A itchy butt hole only. Poor things, lacking the easily available tools to deal with it. Now, knowing that, I just turn the garden hose on it.

…BTW, after about 4 days with Beatrice living at the dog hospital all last week, sometimes not getting back until 4am (out by 9), it was over about 1pm last Friday. In the end, it was renal failure that got my 10,000 mile walking buddy.

Here’s my public Facebook posts about it for anyone interested, and thanks so much to all for the outpourings of sympathy on all channels. You people are great. Life is certainly easier. It’s not any better. And being so sorrowful is silly. Or, it’s not. Dogs aren’t people…

My wonderful 20 lb. Maine Coon cat, Taffy (aka Mr. T.) is the best of both worlds–he is a cat and he acts like a dog.

Richard, My condolences. I cried more when my first cat died than when my dad died. My dad didn’t hang around my house like my cat did and everywhere I looked, I would see where she slept, played, etc. I could barely walk up the stairs, because I could see where she always walked.

I’m really sorry about Rotor Richard. We lost our soul mate beagle x last summer.
We still have our herding x.

I’ve been feeding him raw meat (organs n tripe) and fish since adopting him as an adult (with issues).
He still itches himself and has seizures and anxiety. (has so for 5 yrs with no help from conventional or holistic vets).

Tim seems to be implying that that is a dog’s specie-appropriate diet. I stared adding a little PS and gBF to his feed — hoping for a miracle. Is it okay for dogs?

Thx

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Well, Rotor was an EPI dog for the last 3.5 years of his life and even with the pig pancreas powder, he always had soft serve. Back about a year ago when I began doing my own kefir, I’d let him lick the bowl once I funneled it into bottles. Saw almost immediate improvement. Later, I used to add like a half tsp of PS to his meals on some days, then later, the plantain or banana flour. He seemed to like the banana flour better and even at the end, his poops were pristine.

It surely wasn’t any of those things that caused his downfall. More likely, an anti-inflammatory we put him on in January, just to help him with the obvious mobility trouble. But, everyone dies of something.

I was telling Bea last night in her own grief that life is a series of gains and losses but in the end, you’ve lost everything, including your own life (I’m barrel of lafs!).

I too am sorry for your loss. My 10,000 mile companion – she and I are known throughout the neighborhood for our walks – is dying from metastatic cancer originating from her scapula. She was a rescue. When we got her, she had been so horribly abused that she would drop into the fetal position and cry if I moved too quickly. She didn’t fear females. Now she is a normal dog. I and my vet strongly suspect that the abuse is what will kill her – there is some evidence that bone cancer might be a consequence of an chronically inflamed injury. She has had a slight limp/stumble in that shoulder since we got her.

The ironic thing is that I was planning to talk to the vet about pre- and probiotics once we got the shoulder problem worked out. Now she’s getting lots of good people food. Beef liver pâté today…

Regina, I started tonight giving Prescript Assist to my cats. It’s the same as PetFlora. One of my cats twitches and itches and barfs. Less these days because I think the Wellness kibble (which apparently and it’s a bit of a quandary after I’ve read the research paper on probiotic in pet food but there’s definitely some) has helped a lot. The cats did not appear to notice the presence of ‘black dirt’ in their food tonight. I’ve also added Primal Defense Ultra (although except for the bifidobacter the lactobacillus clears out of the system) to their food.

Really, you could give the dog some kefir. Richard is right. Dogs will eat anything. My cats won’t eat kefir.

Iv’e given my cat Flora Balance (basically Bacillus Laterosporus) and it cleared up an ear/skin condition he had had for all his life, and which the vets could do nothing about. It cleared up within a couple of weeks. Now I have been giving him Primal Defense Ultra, and it just knocks him out (in a good way) for hours (and yes, I can tell, even though cats sleep for 22 hours a day anyway). I just put it in Wellness canned food, and he has no problem with it. As RN noted, he’s basically an indoor cat and always has been. Otherwise he’d be eagle food I’m afraid.

I clicked on the Dog Anal Fistula link (there’s a sentence I never want to say again) and one thing caught my eye ‘Many veterinarians recommend a high fibre diet to attempt to firm up soft stools’.
Isn’t it interesting that that is the exact opposite of what health authorities tell us will happen to us humans if we eat more fibre?

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“A turbulent area of wind found behind the edge of a sharp cliff that curls over into the sheltered area and blows in the opposite direction to the main wind.”

That’s convoluted, but what it means is that when we fly, we have to always be aware that if there’s a prevailing wind of anything over about 5 MPH, you can encounter significant turbulence in the shadow of any obstruction (mountain, ridge, tree, building, and so on). At the time, we were on hang gliding trips all the time, with other hang glider and paraglider folks. Having him around, with that name, was hilarious.

Hang tough. Not easy breezy stuff. Those rascals sure claim stake to a very real piece of us.

9 years ago when I lost my Boxer, I drove 30 minutes in the car with him to my friends “land” and I dug a big hole by myself for him. Was very VERY therapeutic for some reason. Some tears, a few screams and sweat.

Anal stuff…
Could be way off topic and off base here… but our little doggie who we put on a home cooked food routine (used to be a kibble dog before we got her, now I make weekly pot of carrots, greenbeans, rice and meat) used to have a real problem with her anal sacks impacting (scoot-ville). Since the switch to “real food” it now takes 6-8 months before a squeeze (with very minor liquid compared to previous) when it used to be a just 6-8 weeks until it was needed. Curious if the cooled (RG-RS) rice is helping her.

Marc

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Yea, when Rotor initially began leaving food, which he NEVER did, we suspected in was the pancreas powder for his EPI. We thought, or actually Bea did: rice, chopped veggies, chicken, all mixed together. He initially loved it, then shortly went back to refusing food. kidney failure will do that. By the time he was skin & bones and Bea was ready, his creatine and BUN were almost back to normal. But, it’s because he hadn’t eaten in a week and the only thing to clear was the buildup. unfortunately, by that time, his lean mass was far too shot to ever recover and plus, he was 15.

And yep, I think it’s appropriate to give dogs sme starch in their diet too.

BYW, thanks to ALL for the kind words and to Dr. McGuff, thanks a little especially since you’ve met Beatrice because of AHS11 at Aaron’s place where you originally came up to her. :)

I’m sorry about your dog Richard. I had to put my rat terrier down last month – Had cancer on the skin, in the bladder, and in the lung. Her mood and disposition were great, but eventually after trying to treat the conditions she had a tumor in her elbow which deteriorated the bone. She was happy and running around right to the end, which made it tough, but I was glad to see her still enjoying life, rather than waiting for the inevitable pain to take over (which the vet said was already constant and bad).

I’ve been thinking about the food I gave her, supposedly among the best (out of a package).

Feel better.

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John, don’t know how old she was. Sorry. I grew up with black labs who are the most lovable dogs ever, but ratties are just so special to me. Big Dog in small package, and they have the “off switch.”

Rotor was crap-in-bag fed from 1999-2007ish, Nuke from 2005-2007, until I put them both on EVO, both canned and kibble combo. Still, Rotor did great and seemed to feel great and always wanted anything being served up at the table (they got plenty of scraps, licked plenty of plates—nuke liked egg yolk off Bea’s plate just the other day). Rotor did lose all the fat around his balls, though, when I put him on EVO. for the first time in his life, they swayed from side to side, just like they should. He died intact.

I’m really not sure it makes a huge difference. Dogs evolved by following humans around, eating their garbage. So, don’t beat yourself up. I’ve used the grain free stuff and support it as a middle ground between the pain of raw feeding. What we’re going to be doing is a rice, veggie mix to add to the high protein EVO.

Can’t thank you enough for this post! My father has an anal fistula–ON TOP OF HAVING NO COLON. His large intestine was removed in the eighties as a fix for colitis, and a j-pouch is now there to do the work of his rectum (I think I have that right).

He’s had so many complications that seem to beg for RS from what I understand, except if RS does it’s thing in the colon, what would it do in him?

No idea, but that’s an interesting study. I didn’t even know they could reconstruct something like that from small intestine material. But, apparently it can ferment RS so I don’t see why not, and perhaps it’s more needed than ever for him. I’d take it slow, though.

2. Have you checked what Steve Cooksey and other diabetics have been up to with RS? He’s eating beans with normal post-prandials under 140, no meds. But, he also understands it will take some time to “carb adapt.”

3. You might be missing some necessary gut bugs that make RS work (very likely if you’ve ever had antibiotics, especially oral ones) and that you won’t get in any of the lacto products on the shelves, and probably not enough in fermented vegetables.

4. Consider that your weight gain might be a very good thing, and perhaps part of it explained by more robust gut tissue, as well as a greater population of bacteria (while still lacking some key players, i.e., #3).

Thanks Richard, for the reply and all you do. (we do appreciate it even if we do not always show it)
I was disappointed by the results and I will follow up on your links and let you know. Sorry about your buddy Rotor, My Siberian has just turned 16 still with a good quality of life but I am slowly getting a sinking feeling knowing how it has to end.

Over the last 6 months I have been dealing with an “anal fissure” and severe hemorrhoids, the doc told me that if things did not improve that surgery might be the “only” answer, I freaked out started using all sorts of Preparation-H products, to no avail, my wife told me that after our two kids she was advised to take a high fiber supplement and a probiotic, since i have started the dreaded “red” streak as gone away and the “burning” sensation is also gone.

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Thanks for having the courage to share that under your own name. Not a pleasant thing to do. I didn’t know what to think of doing this post, and kinda regret mixing it with my own minor troubles by comparison. Got this message via Facebook yesterday from a woman, here’s just a small excerpt.

“I have had 5 surgeries in the past 3 months to try to control this damn thing and the fistula I have has devastating consequences because I am a woman and two orifices that should not be connected are now due to this fistula.”

A little off topic, but I’ve been reading through your resistant starch info with great interest and wanted to contribute another data point..

I have a form of dysautonomia (dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system), possibly auto-immune, that I’ve worked to improve with diet changes, supplements, etc. Pastured butter has been helpful for me, so I thought I’d give the RS a shot for endogenous butyrate production.

I supplemented for a week, starting with 1 tsp / day potato starch, and switching to plantain halfway through. I experienced a return of my dysautonomia symptoms (had been mostly in remission) which became progressively worse over the week, along with joint pain, tingling extremities and other weirdness. On the positive side though, my mood improved quiet a bit, in spite of the physical problems.

I wasn’t able to make it past a week. 2 days later and I’m mostly back to baseline. Anyway, it seems like other people have had autoimmune flareups from RS, and I would urge caution to anyone with a similar condition. I don’t seem to have any problems with RS1 or RS3, which is odd.

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Coming into this discussion a little late, but I am another rare individual that has been plagued by this condition. I had a fistula 6-7 years ago, had surgery, and was fully “cured.” In December of 2013, I developed a new abscess and fistula in a different location of the anus (not to be unnecessarily graphic, but hey, it is what it is). I had surgery 3 weeks ago. Recovery has been no fun, and I’ve a funny feeling that a second round of surgery will be suggested, as things seem much the same as before the surgery.

I’ve been a low-carb paleo type for the past few years, but I’m going to be throwing in some resistant starch immediately. I’m desperate. This has given me a little hope. Really do appreciate the post.

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I'm Richard Nikoley. Free the Animal began in 2003 and as of 2018, contains over 4,600 posts and 110,000 comments from readers. I cover a lot of ground, blogging what I wish...from health, diet, and lifestyle to philosophy, politics, social issues, and cryptocurrency. I celebrate the audacity and hubris to live by your own exclusive authority and take your own chances in life. [Read more...]

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